Financial Security

The AARP Public Policy Institute conducted a series of case studies of leading employers to examine programs and practices that address age diversity and the intergenerational workforce. Five companies from a variety of industries and of different sizes were selected for inclusion in the study: Huntington Ingalls Industries, UnitedHealth Group, Centrica, PNC, and AT&T. Interviews were conducted in February and March 2016 with human resources staff, diversity officers, and program managers.

Social Security is the primary source of retirement income for older minorities with nearly one third of older African-Americans and Hispanics relying on it for more than 90 percent of the income that their families receive.

Issues related to jobs, unemployment and work opportunity remain at the forefront of concern for many older Americans. The multiyear Future of Work@50+ project highlights where the problem areas lie and offers policy solutions to ensure that older Americans have access to quality job.

Health Security

Studies have shown that socially isolated older adults are at greater risk for poor health and death than their well-connected counterparts. Now a new study—the first to examine whether social isolation also affects health care spending among older adults—finds that a lack of social contacts among older adults is associated with an estimated $6.7 billion in additional Medicare spending annually.

The latest Rx Price Watch report by Leigh Purvis and Dr. Stephen W. Schondelmeyer finds that retail prices for widely used prescription drugs increased, on average, between 2006 and 2015. In 2015, retail prices for 768 brand name, generic, and specialty prescription drugs widely used by Medicare beneficiaries increased by an average of 6.4 percent. In contrast, the general inflation rate was 0.1 percent over the same period.

The latest Rx Price Watch report by Leigh Purvis and Dr. Stephen W. Schondelmeyer finds that retail prices for widely used specialty prescription drugs increased, on average, between 2006 and 2015. In 2015, retail prices for 101 widely used specialty prescription drugs increased by an average of 9.6 percent—the highest average annual increase since at least 2006.

This spotlight is based on an analysis of insurance claims data from the OptumLabs Data Warehouse. We found that surprisingly few women are evaluated or treated for osteoporosis following hip fractures, and these missed opportunities may leave some patients at increased risk for subsequent fractures.

The latest Rx Price Watch report by Leigh Purvis and Dr. Stephen Schondelmeyer finds that retail prices for widely used brand name prescription drugs increased substantially faster than general inflation between 2006 and 2015, and that the difference between the rate of brand name drug price increases and the rate of general inflation has been widening.

The latest Rx Price Watch report by Leigh Purvis and Dr. Stephen W. Schondelmeyer finds that retail prices for widely used prescription drugs increased, on average, between 2006 and 2015. In 2015, retail prices for 768 brand name, generic, and specialty prescription drugs widely used by Medicare beneficiaries increased by an average of 6.4 percent. In contrast, the general inflation rate was 0.1 percent over the same period. Read

Independent Living/Long-Term Services and Support

Older people and adults with disabilities, particularly those with care needs, can benefit from care coordination. Care coordinators are typically nurses or social workers who can help with tasks such as monitoring chronic health conditions, connecting them to social supports, conducting assessments, and writing plans of care.

This report presents the findings from a case study of Connecticut. The study was conducted following the release of the 2014 State Long-Term Services and Supports Scorecard to understand factors that lead to improved performance on measures of long-term services and supports (LTSS) for older adults and people with physical disabilities.

The AARP Public Policy Institute contracted with the United Hospital Fund to conduct discussion groups as part of a larger initiative known as the Home Alone AllianceSM. This initiative seeks to bring together partners from public, private, and nonprofit sectors to strive for sweeping cultural change in addressing the needs of family caregivers.

Part of the Valuing the Invaluable series on the economic value of family caregiving, this report updates national and individual state estimates of the economic value of family caregiving using the most current data available. In 2013, about 40 million family caregivers in the U.S. provided an estimated 37 billion hours of care to an adult with limitations in daily activities.

Center to Champion Nursing in America

This series explores the evolution of primary care systems to better meet the needs of consumers with complex health conditions. It demonstrates that changes in the workforce are required to empower consumers to better manage their health.